JP2000278622A - Caption program reception system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To view a caption program following a caption sentence instruction system that a viewer selects by automatically setting the conversion of a caption sentence text into an instruction unit, the detection of timing information corresponding to it and a composite processing with a video. SOLUTION: The conversion of a caption sentence text into an instruction unit, the detection of timing information corresponding to it and a synthesis processing with a video are automatically set from a caption sentence text separated and taken out from a received broadcast radio wave and a caption instruction system that a viewer selects. In the system 11, a caption extraction/ accumulation/reading part 17, a function extracting an instruction unit caption sentence for two rows in a side as the unit, a function for once accumulating the extracted caption sentence and a function for adding the head timing of the respective units of the caption sentence at the time of accumulation are included. A function for reading the extracted/accumulated caption sentence with head timing information and a timing operation function are also included.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a subtitle program receiving system in which a viewer can select a subtitle presentation format according to his / her preference even under current subtitle broadcasting.
Assuming that the broadcast wave containing the caption text that is the basis of the caption to be presented is sent with the audio, the caption text extracted separately from the received broadcast wave and selected by the viewer Conversion of subtitle presentation format to subtitle sentence text presentation unit, detection of timing information corresponding thereto, and synthesis processing with video are automatically set, and a subtitle program that allows viewing of subtitle programs according to the selected subtitle presentation format Regarding the receiving system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, it is generally referred to as an advanced information society, but hearing impaired persons are in a situation where it is difficult to obtain information as compared with healthy persons.

That is, for example, a TV broadcast program which is widely used as an information medium is exemplified, and when the ratio of a subtitle program to all TV broadcast programs in Japan is referred to, it reaches 33 to 70% in Europe and the United States. Only 10
At present, it is as low as about%.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to overcome the above-mentioned current situation and to widely disseminate subtitle programs in which subtitles are synthesized with video and / or audio, the present inventors have proposed subtitles from all viewpoints. We are working hard on program-related technology.

[0005] In order to spread such subtitle programs widely and generally, it is extremely important that the subtitles be easy to read and understand.

Therefore, the present inventors have evaluated subtitle programs conforming to various subtitle presentation formats in order to find the ideal image of the subtitle programs for the viewer, and to evaluate the readability and comprehension of the subtitles as evaluation items. An experiment was performed.

[0007] As a result of this evaluation, there is a large difference in personal preference between basic caption presentation formats such as the number of display lines, character size, character modification, and caption conversion method. There was also a tendency to guess.

[0008] This implies that there is an extremely large potential need for a subtitle program receiving system that allows the viewer to select a subtitle presentation format, in other words, a subtitle program that follows the subtitle presentation format selected by the viewer. If we develop and provide a closed-caption program receiving system that allows users to watch TV programs, we will be able to respond to the diverse needs of a wide range of viewers. It means you can do it.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and is based on the premise that a broadcast radio wave including a caption sentence text serving as a base of a caption to be presented is transmitted along with video and audio. Conversion of subtitle text extracted from the received broadcast wave and subtitle presentation format selected by the viewer into presentation units of subtitle text, detection of corresponding timing information, and synthesis with video It is an object of the present invention to provide a subtitle program receiving system that automatically sets processing and enables viewing of a subtitle program according to a subtitle presentation format selected by a viewer.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a video and audio, and a subtitle sentence which is transmitted at a predetermined timing and which is to be a subtitle to be presented. Receiving means for receiving broadcast radio waves including text, and separately extracting video, audio, and subtitle text from among the received broadcast radio waves,
Among various subtitle presentation formats, a presentation format instruction input unit used when selectively instructing and inputting a desired subtitle presentation format; a subtitle text text separated and taken out by the receiving unit; and the presentation format instruction Based on the subtitle presentation format instructed and input by the input means, the subtitle text within the required range is extracted from the subtitle text, and the extracted subtitle text is temporarily stored. The subtitle sentence timing information of each subtitle sentence is added, and the extracted and stored subtitle sentences are read out by the subtitle extraction / accumulation / reading means read out according to the heading timing information, and read out by the subtitle extraction / accumulation / reading means. Based on the subtitle sentence and the subtitle presentation format instructed and input by the presentation format instruction input means, into at least one or more presentation unit subtitle texts according to the subtitle presentation format. And a subtitle synthesizing unit for synthesizing at least one presentation unit subtitle sentence after the presentation format conversion by the presentation format converting unit and a video separated and taken out by the receiving unit. The gist is that it is composed of

According to the first aspect of the present invention, first, the receiving means transmits the broadcast radio wave including the video and audio and the subtitle sentence text that is transmitted at a predetermined timing and is the basis of the subtitle to be presented. At the same time, video, audio, and caption text are separated and extracted from the received broadcast radio waves.

Next, the subtitle extracting / accumulating / reading means, based on the subtitle sentence text separated and taken out by the receiving means and the subtitle presentation format instructed and input by the presentation format instruction inputting means, converts the caption text into text. Among them, a subtitle sentence within a required range is extracted, the extracted subtitle sentence is temporarily stored, and at the time of this accumulation, the head timing information of each subtitle sentence is added, and the extracted and stored subtitle sentence is , And is read out together with the sentence start timing information.

Further, the presentation format conversion means includes a subtitle extraction /
The subtitle sentence read by the storage / reading unit is converted into at least one or more presentation unit subtitle sentences in accordance with the subtitle presentation format based on the subtitle sentence and the subtitle presentation format instructed and input by the presentation format instruction input unit. .

The subtitle synthesizing unit synthesizes at least one or more presentation unit subtitle sentences after the presentation format conversion by the presentation format conversion unit and the video separated and taken out by the receiving unit.

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is assumed that a broadcast wave including a caption sentence text serving as a base of a caption to be presented is transmitted along with video and audio.
From the caption text extracted separately from the received broadcast radio wave and the caption presentation format selected by the viewer, conversion of the caption text to the presentation unit, corresponding timing information detection, and synthesis processing with the video are performed. As a result of the automatic setting and the ability to view subtitle programs that follow the subtitle presentation format selected by the viewer, it is possible to meet the viewer's demands and to achieve the intended purpose of disseminating the subtitle programs widely to the general public. it can.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the subtitle program receiving system according to the first aspect, wherein the subtitle sentence read out by the subtitle extracting / accumulating / reading means is summarized to form a summary sentence. The present invention further comprises summarizing means for creating, and in this case, the summary is that the summary sentence created by the summarizing means is given to the presentation format converting means as a caption sentence.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a summarizing means for summarizing a caption sentence read by the caption extracting / accumulating / reading means to create a summary sentence. Since the summarized sentence is given to the presentation format conversion means as a caption sentence, therefore, even if a caption sentence text that is redundant or has too many characters if presented as it is, As a result, it is possible to present a caption sentence that is appropriately summarized, so that a preferable environment for presenting a caption sentence can be constructed.

[0018] Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the caption program receiving system according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the presentation format conversion means is added with delimitable location information. In converting a subtitle sentence into at least one or more presentation unit subtitle sentences according to the subtitle presentation format,
A presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan is created by appropriately dividing the subtitle sentence, and the presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan is determined by optimizing the created presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan with reference to the delimitable place information. By dividing the subtitle sentence into each presentation unit subtitle sentence at the optimum position,
The gist of the present invention is to convert to a presentation unit subtitle sentence according to the subtitle presentation format.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the presentation format conversion means converts the caption sentence to which delimitable portion information is added,
In converting into at least one or more presentation unit subtitle sentences according to the subtitle presentation format, a presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan is created by appropriately dividing the subtitle sentences, and the created presentation is referred to by referring to the delimitable portion information. By deciding the presentation unit subtitle arrangement by optimizing the unit subtitle arrangement plan,
Since the subtitle sentence is divided into each presentation unit subtitle sentence at the optimum position, and the subtitle sentence is converted into the presentation unit subtitle sentence according to the subtitle presentation format, therefore, the subtitle sentence is presented in the presentation unit subtitle sentence according to the subtitle presentation format. By applying the delimitable portion information in the conversion to the best presentation format, it is possible to realize an optimal presentation format conversion that is easy to see and read.

[0020] Further, the invention of claim 4 is the invention of claim 3
In the subtitle program receiving system according to the above, in optimizing the created presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan with reference to the delimitable part information, the delimitable part information, The line feed / page break recommended data that includes the line feed / page break data related to the page recommended position is defined as N (presentation) from the immediately preceding line feed / page break point. -7, the maximum number of characters in one line of subtitles, and punctuation marks in the range of N characters. Second, the punctuation marks in the range of N-4 and N characters from the immediately preceding line break / page break point, third.
, There are M kanji and kana characters (“N” or less, N /
4 or more) When the head of the continuous part is NM or more from the previous line feed / page break point and the "." Position is N or less, it is after ".". Fourth, Kanji / Kana / Arabic M numbers (N
(Hereinafter, N / 4 or more)) When the head of a continuous portion is NM or more from the previous line feed / page break point, before the head, fifthly, N-3 characters after the previous line feed / page break point. , And a combination of any one or more of the above. In applying the line feed / page break data, it is essential that the data be applied with priority from the head of the description order.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in optimizing the created presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan with reference to the delimitable portion information, a line feed / page break related to a recommended line feed / page break in a caption sentence is provided. The recommended line feed and page break defined by the data are as follows: first, a line break within the range of N (the number of characters in one line) -7 and N characters from the previous line feed / page break point; Reading point in the range of N-4 and N characters from the page break, third
, There are M kanji and kana characters ("N", N /
4 or more) When the head of the continuous part is NM or more from the previous line feed / page break point and the "." Position is N or less, it is after ".". Fourth, Kanji / Kana / Arabic M numbers (N
(Hereinafter, N / 4 or more)) When the head of a continuous portion is NM or more from the previous line feed / page break point, before the head, fifthly, N-3 characters after the previous line feed / page break point. , And one or a combination of the above, and when applying the line feed / page break data, the data is applied preferentially from the head of the description order. It is possible to obtain a subtitle program receiving system capable of realizing the presentation format conversion optimized for the subtitle.

Further, the invention according to claim 5 is the caption program receiving system according to any one of claims 3 and 4, wherein, in optimizing the created presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan, If there is a pause exceeding a predetermined time during the audio announcement corresponding to the presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan,
The point is that the presentation unit subtitle array is newly converted from the subtitle sentences before this pause.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in optimizing the created presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan, there is a relatively long pause exceeding a predetermined time during a sound announcement corresponding to the presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan. In this case, the presentation unit subtitle array is re-converted from the subtitle sentence before this pause, so that the presence of a pause exceeding a predetermined time in the audio announcement corresponding to the presentation unit subtitle sentence means that The unit subtitle sentences may be temporally separated from each other, and may also include subtitle sentences corresponding to a plurality of different scenes in terms of content, and these subtitle sentences may be combined into one presentation unit subtitle. Although it may not be desirable to consider it as a sentence, the result that once confirmed the validity of the presentation unit subtitle sentence can be re-verified from the viewpoint of the corresponding announcement sound Te, can play a significant contribution to the conversion determination of the preferred presentation unit caption statement.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the subtitle program receiving system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the subtitle synthesizing unit converts the presentation format after the presentation format conversion by the presentation format conversion unit. In synthesizing at least one or more of the presentation unit subtitle sentences and the video separated and taken out by the receiving unit while considering the time synchronization between the two, the presentation timing of the video corresponding to the presentation unit subtitle sentence The point is that the two presentation timings are synchronized by delaying the presentation timing in comparison with the presentation timing of the presentation unit subtitle sentences.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the subtitle synthesizing means converts at least one of the presentation formats converted by the presentation format conversion means.
In synthesizing the presentation unit subtitle sentence and the video separated and taken out by the receiving unit while considering the time synchronization between the two, the presentation timing of the video corresponding to the presentation unit subtitle sentence is determined by the presentation timing. The two presentation timings are synchronized by delaying the time in comparison with the timing at which the unit caption text can be presented. Therefore, a subtitle program receiving system capable of presenting a desired subtitle program in which the two presentation timings are synchronized is provided. Can be realized.

[0026]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As described above, in order to widely and generally disseminate subtitled programs in which subtitles are added to video and / or audio, the present inventors have proposed subtitled program-related technologies from all viewpoints. We are working hard on research.

In order to spread such closed-captioned programs widely and generally, it is very important that the closed-captioned programs be easy to read and understand.

In order to find an ideal image of a subtitle program for a viewer, the present inventors evaluate subtitle programs conforming to various subtitle presentation formats, such as readability and understandability of subtitles, as evaluation items. An experiment was performed.

As a result of this evaluation, there is a large difference in personal preference between basic caption presentation formats such as the number of display lines, character size, character modification, and caption conversion method. There was also a tendency to guess.

This implies that there is a great potential need for a subtitle program receiving system that allows the viewer to select a subtitle presentation format, in other words, a subtitle program that follows the subtitle presentation format selected by the viewer. Developing and providing a closed-caption program receiving system that allows viewers to watch TV programs can meet the diverse needs of a wide range of viewers. This means that it is possible to expect to achieve the intended purpose.

Therefore, in the present invention, it is assumed that a broadcast radio wave including a caption sentence text which is a basis of a caption to be presented is transmitted from a broadcast station along with video and audio, and is separated from a received broadcast radio wave. Automatically set the conversion of subtitle text to presentation unit, detection of timing information corresponding to it, and synthesis processing with video from the subtitle text extracted and extracted and the subtitle presentation format selected by the viewer. It is an object of the present invention to provide a closed-caption program receiving system in which a closed-caption program according to a selected closed-caption presentation format can be viewed.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a subtitle program receiving system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a subtitle program receiving system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a subtitle program configuration procedure in a subtitle program receiving system to which a first subtitle presentation format is applied. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a subtitle program configuration procedure in a subtitle program receiving system to which a second subtitle presentation format is applied.

Prior to the description of the present embodiment, terms used in the following description are defined. In the description of the present embodiment, the entire set of subtitles to be presented is called “subtitle sentence text”. In the caption text, a sub-set of text units separated by a period is called a "unit subtitle sentence", the entire set of presentation unit subtitles on the display screen of the display is called a "presentation unit subtitle group", and the presentation unit subtitles Out of the group
Individual subtitles are referred to as “subtitles for presentation”, and when expressing any character in the subtitles for presentation, this is referred to as “subtitle character”.
I will say.

Now, as a result of a basic evaluation experiment on a preferred subtitle presentation format, the number of subtitle lines such as one line, two lines, three lines, and standard / horizontal 2/3 / vertical 2 / Subtitle character size of 3 etc., display position of subtitle on display screen, subtitle character modification such as font, color, thickness of subtitle character, subtitle conversion format such as batch replacement, vertical scrolling, horizontal scrolling, presence or absence of subtitle exclusive area, And the like. If a viewer can select a subtitle presentation format according to a desired combination among these subtitle presentation parameters on the viewer side, a variety of needs of a wide range of viewers can be met.

The above-described subtitle conversion format will be described in detail. The subtitle conversion format is used when subtitles are converted in accordance with the announcement sound or the progress of a program. The oldest presentation unit subtitle sentence is deleted from the group of presentation unit subtitles written horizontally, and the latest presentation unit subtitle sentence is added in units of lines. In the vertical scrolling format, which is sent in the vertical direction, the oldest subtitle character is deleted from the horizontal subtitle sentences, and the latest subtitle character is added, so that the presentation unit subtitle text is sent horizontally in character units. Examples include a scroll format.

When the subtitles are converted in synchronization with the progress of the announcement sound or the program video, in the batch total replacement format, the start point / end point timing is usually determined for each presentation unit subtitle sentence, and the presentation unit is determined according to the timing. Perform subtitle conversion every time. On the other hand, in the vertical scrolling or horizontal scrolling format, the timing of the starting point and the ending point of each presentation unit subtitle sentence used in this format, or the starting point and the scrolling speed are obtained, and subtitle conversion is performed at a predetermined timing for each line or character unit. I do.

Among the various subtitle presentation formats described above, the present invention includes, for example, a three-line batch total replacement format for batch-replacement of presentation unit subtitle groups in which three lines of presentation unit subtitle sentences are presented as presentation units. The oldest presentation unit subtitle sentence is added while the latest presentation unit subtitle sentence is deleted from the presentation unit subtitles group that uses the first subtitle presentation format and the presentation unit subtitle sentence of three horizontal lines as the presentation unit The following description will be made by exemplifying a second subtitle presentation format having a three-line vertical scroll format in which presentation unit subtitle sentences are exchanged in the vertical direction on a line-by-line basis.

By the way, in the current closed-caption broadcasting, it is assumed that the receiving side adopts a closed-caption presentation format in which two horizontal lines of presentation unit subtitle sentences are provided as a presentation unit, with a limit of 15 characters per line. The presentation unit subtitles for two horizontal lines are sent at the start timing. Therefore, when converting subtitle sentence text sent on the premise of two-line presentation units to the subtitle presentation format using three-line presentation units, the subtitle presentation format is synchronized with the program video and audio. It is necessary to present the subtitle sentence according to the presentation unit. In the present invention,
This problem is solved by using a timing calculation process and a video time delay method described later.

Next, the configuration and operation of the subtitle program receiving system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, a schematic configuration of the subtitle program receiving system 11 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in the figure, a subtitle program receiving system 11 has a subtitle program receiving tuner 15 functioning as a receiving means to which a receiving antenna 13 is connected, and a subtitle extracting / accumulating function functioning as a subtitle extracting / accumulating / reading means. .Readout unit 17
A summarizing unit 19 that functions as a summarizing unit that is added as needed, a presentation format instruction input unit 21 that functions as a presentation format instruction input unit, and a presentation format conversion unit 23 that functions as a presentation format conversion unit. An NTSC converter 25;
It is configured to include a video delay unit 26, a video processing unit 27, and a subtitle synthesis processing unit 29 that functions as subtitle synthesis means.

The subtitle program receiving tuner 15 receives, via the receiving antenna 13, the broadcast radio waves including the video and audio transmitted from the broadcasting station and the subtitle text which is the basis of the subtitle to be presented, and receives the same. It has a function of separately extracting video, audio, and caption text from each of the broadcast radio waves.

The subtitle extracting / accumulating / reading unit 17 uses the subtitle sentences within the required range, that is, the presentation unit subtitle sentences for two horizontal lines, among the subtitle texts separated and taken out by the subtitle program receiving tuner 15. An extraction function for extracting at least two units of subtitle sentences, a storage function for temporarily storing the extracted subtitle sentences, and, at the time of this storage, adding a head timing of each unit of the subtitle sentences using a timer (not shown). It has a sentence start timing information addition function, a readout function that reads out a subtitle sentence extracted and stored by exhibiting an extraction and storage function according to the start timing information, a timing calculation function described in detail later, and the like. ing.

The summarizing section 19 is an additional function block added as necessary, and is a subtitle extracting / accumulating / reading section 1.
7 has a summarization function for creating a summary sentence from the caption sentence read out in step 7. If necessary, the caption sentence is separated from the summary sentence created by performing the summarization function, that is, the subtitle sentence. It also has an information addition function of adding delimitable portion information regarding delimitable portions considered appropriate to the above. The above-mentioned summarization function is applied to cases where the number of subtitle characters is to be reduced to make subtitles easier to read, etc., and simplification for the end of the subtitle sentence, or simplification when a specific word included in the subtitle sentence appears. It becomes something. A simplified example of a specific word is, for example, "Prime Minister Obuchi
When a caption sentence "..." appears, it can be simplified to "Prime Obuchi is ...". Here, the summarizing function of the summarizing section 19 is not necessarily an essential function for the present subtitle program receiving system. For example, in a program in which it is appropriate to use subtitle sentence text sent from a broadcast station as subtitles as it is, It should be noted that this can be omitted. As the delimitable portion information, a line feed symbol between the first line and the second line of the received presentation unit caption sentence of two horizontal lines can be used. It is also possible to use attached morphological analysis data and line feed / page break data (division rules) described below.

The recommended line feed / page break defined by the line feed / page break data (division rule) related to the recommended line feed / page break point for the caption text is, for example, firstly from the immediately preceding line feed / page break point. N (maximum number of characters in one line of subtitle to be presented)-7 and N
Secondly, the punctuation marks in the range of characters, secondly, the punctuation marks in the range of N-4 and N characters from the previous line feed / page break point, and thirdly, M kanji and kana characters sandwiching "." , N / 4 or more) The head of the continuous part is NM or more from the previous line feed / page break point, and when the "."
M Kanji / Kana / Arabic numerals (N or less, N / 4
Above) If the beginning of the continuous part is NM or more from the previous line feed / page break point, before the head, fifthly, N-3 characters after the previous line feed / page break point, etc. Can be. When the summarizing section 19 is used, more appropriate line breaks and page breaks can be performed by utilizing the phrase data.

The presentation format instruction input section 21 allows the viewer to select a desired subtitle presentation format from among various subtitle presentation formats related to a combination of a plurality of subtitle presentation parameters while viewing a GUI (graphical user interface) screen of the display. The subtitle presentation format is used when the instruction input operation is selectively performed. The subtitle presentation format selected here is referred to by each of the subtitle extraction / accumulation / readout unit 17, the summarization unit 19, the presentation format conversion unit 23, the video delay unit 26, the video processing unit 27, and the subtitle synthesis processing unit 29. You. In addition, as a subtitle presentation format that can be selected here, in addition to a plurality of subtitle presentation parameters described above, when using processing parameters in video processing such as video time delay or video compression, or subtitle synthesis processing, or when using a summary. Shall include the summarization method and its degree specification.

The presentation format conversion unit 23 extracts, stores,
The subtitle sentence read by the reading unit 17 or the summary sentence summarized by the summarization unit 19 as necessary is converted into the subtitle sentence or the summary sentence, delimitable portion information added thereto,
And a presentation format conversion function for converting into a presentation unit subtitle sentence according to the subtitle presentation format based on the subtitle presentation format instructed and input via the presentation format instruction input unit 31.

The NTSC converter 25 includes a presentation format converter 2
3 has a function of outputting a subtitle TV signal by performing NTSC conversion processing on a subtitle signal corresponding to a presentation unit subtitle sentence after presentation format conversion.

The video delay unit 26 has a video delay function of performing a time delay process on the program video separated and taken out by the subtitle program receiving tuner 15 in accordance with the presentation format instruction from the presentation format instruction input unit 21. The timing between the finally generated presentation unit subtitles and the video is adjusted.

The video processing unit 27 compresses or compresses the video image of the program video subjected to the time delay processing by the video delay unit 26 in accordance with the presentation format instruction from the presentation format instruction input unit 21. It has a function of performing video processing such as level control of the image.

The subtitle synthesizing section 29 responds to the presentation format instruction from the presentation format instruction input section 21 by using the NTSC converter 2.
5, the subtitles are synthesized with the program video by performing the subtitle key synthesizing process or the mixing process on the subtitle TV signal after the NTSC conversion process and the video signal after the video processing by the video processing unit 27. It has a function to output a subtitle program.
The subtitle key synthesizing process is a synthesizing method that outputs a subtitle TV signal in a subtitle portion and a video signal in other portions using a subtitle TV signal as a key.

Next, a subtitle program configuration procedure in a subtitle program receiving system to which a first subtitle presentation format having a three-line batch total exchange format is applied will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

In step S1, the presentation format instruction input unit 31 selectively inputs a desired subtitle presentation format in accordance with a viewer's operation instruction input from various subtitle presentation formats. In the example of the present embodiment, the first subtitle presentation format having the three-line batch replacement format as the content is selectively input.

In steps S2 to S4, the subtitle extracting / accumulating / reading unit 17 selects at least a predetermined time corresponding to the two units from the subtitle sentence text separated and extracted by the subtitle program receiving tuner 15. The subtitle sentences within the range are extracted, and the extracted subtitle sentences are temporarily stored. At the time of this accumulation, the head timing information of each unit of the subtitle sentences is added using a timer, and the extraction / storage function is performed. The subtitle sentence extracted and accumulated by displaying is read out along with the sentence head timing information.

In step S5, subtitle extraction / accumulation /
The reading unit 17 receives the read subtitle sentence and the sentence head timing information as inputs, and performs a timing calculation function to detect the presence or absence of a pause between the next unit of subtitle sentence. In practice, the presence or absence of a pause in the corresponding announcement sound that exceeds a predetermined time, for example, 2 seconds or more, that is, a pause is detected. To detect the presence or absence of a pause, calculate the end timing between subtitle sentences in the relevant unit based on the character type, number of characters, or average character reading speed of the relevant subtitle sentence, and compare it with the beginning timing of the next unit of subtitle sentences. To detect the presence or absence of a pause. Here, the purpose of detecting the presence / absence of a pause is that, before and after this pause, the caption sentences that are different in time and content are usually different. Is used as a separate presentation unit subtitle sentence to perform processing such as division of subtitle sentence text. By performing the timing calculation function, the caption extraction / accumulation / reading unit 17 further calculates the head timing of the presentation unit caption sentence corresponding to the second line under the current caption broadcast, as necessary. I'm asking. The reason is that if a new three-line presentation subtitle of the first page is generated from the first line of the subtitle text of the current subtitle broadcast and the first line of the second page, the new subtitle of the second page is It will consist of the second line of the page and the first and second lines of the third page,
This is because the start timing of the new second page must be the start timing of the second line of the current two pages. How to find it, the character type of the first line of the caption sentence,
The required time of the first line is calculated from the number of characters, the average character reading speed, and the like, and is added to the sentence start timing time.

In step S 6, the summarizing section 19 summarizes the subtitle sentences read by the subtitle extracting / accumulating / reading section 17. This is applied to cases where it is desired to reduce the number of subtitle characters to make the subtitles easier to read.For example, simplification for the end of the subtitle sentence or simplification when a specific word included in the subtitle sentence appears Depending on the method. Therefore, for example, even if the text is sent as it is and the number of characters is too large to read or it is difficult to read the text, it is preferable as a result that the caption text that appropriately summarizes the text can be presented. It is possible to construct a subtitle sentence presentation environment. However, this step S6
Is not an essential processing element for the present subtitle program reception system.For example, in a program or the like in which it is appropriate to use subtitle sentence text sent from a broadcast station as it is as a subtitle, viewer This can be omitted in the presentation. In this example, the following description will be given by exemplifying a form in which the abstract is omitted.

In steps S7 to S10, the presentation format conversion unit 35 converts the subtitle text read by the subtitle extraction / accumulation / readout unit 17 into the subtitle text, the delimitable location information added thereto, and the presentation. Based on the subtitle presentation format instructed through the format instruction input unit 31, the content is converted into a presentation unit subtitle sentence according to the subtitle presentation format.

More specifically, the presentation format conversion unit 35
In converting the caption text read by the caption extraction / accumulation / reading unit 17 to which the delimitable portion information is added into a presentation unit caption text in accordance with the first caption presentation format instructed and input in step S1, A presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan is created by appropriately dividing the subtitle sentence (step S7), and is created in step S7 with reference to delimitable place information including line feed / page break data (division rule) shown in step S8. By deciding the presentation unit subtitle array by optimizing the line feed / page break point of the proposed presentation unit subtitle array plan (steps S9 to S10), the subtitle sentence is divided into three lines of presentation unit subtitle sentences at the optimum location. Then, the subtitle text is converted into a presentation unit subtitle text according to the subtitle presentation format.

Therefore, when converting a subtitle sentence into a presentation unit subtitle sentence in accordance with a subtitle presentation format, an optimum presentation format conversion that is easy to see and read can be realized by referring to the delimitable portion information.

Specifically, a line feed symbol included in the received caption text is used, and if there is phrase data, this is also used. In addition, refer to the delimitable location information,
In optimizing the presentation unit subtitle arrangement draft created in step S7, the recommended line feed / page break defined by the line feed / page break data (division rule) shown in step S8 is, first, the immediately preceding line feed / line feed. From the page break point, N (maximum number of characters in one line of subtitles to be presented)-7 and the punctuation in the range of N characters.
Third, the reading point in the range of N-4 and N characters from the previous line feed / page break point. Third, the beginning of the M (N or less, N / 4 or more) consecutive Kanji / Kana characters sandwiching "." But the line break
Fourth, M characters (N or less, N / 4 or more) of Kanji, Kana, or Arabic numerals after "-" when the position is N-M or more and "." The beginning of the
If it is more than NM from the previous line feed / page break point, it includes any one or more of the following: before the head, fifthly, N-3 characters after the previous line feed / page break point. When applying this line feed / page break data (division rule),
The application is preferentially applied from the head of the description order.

In this way, it is possible to realize a presentation format conversion that is optimized with high precision in accordance with the actual situation.

In the presentation unit subtitle arrangement determination processing in step S10, the presence or absence of a pause during the audio announcement corresponding to the presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan is investigated based on information from the timing calculation processing in step S5. As a result of the investigation, if there is a pause, the presentation unit subtitle array is re-converted from the subtitle sentence before the pause.

Here, in step S10, the purpose of examining the presentation unit subtitle array, that is, the presence or absence of a pause during the audio announcement corresponding to the presentation unit subtitle sentence, exceeds a predetermined time during the audio announcement corresponding to the presentation unit subtitle sentence. The presence of the pause means that the presentation unit subtitle sentences may be temporally separated from each other and include subtitle sentences corresponding to a plurality of different scenes in terms of content, If these caption sentences are regarded as one presentation unit caption sentence, there is a possibility that it is not preferable. As a result, the validity of the presentation unit subtitle sentence once determined in step S10 can be re-verified from the viewpoint of the corresponding announcement sound. it can.

In steps S11 to S15, when the presentation unit subtitle arrangement in step S10 is determined, the first and last subtitle characters of the determined arrangement are known, so that the timing information added to the beginning of the sentence, the steps S5 and S5
By using the result of the timing calculation in step 12, it is possible to start and end the presentation in consideration of the relative time synchronization with the program video or audio. The absolute time synchronization is performed by setting a time delay unit 26 described later. Note that the end point time calculation processing in step S12 can be included in the timing calculation processing in step S5.

More specifically, the video signal separated and taken out from the subtitle program receiving tuner 15 displays the video delay processing in the video delay section 26, the video compression processing in the video processing section 27 or the subtitle. After performing processing such as level control of the video area, the caption synthesis processing unit 29
A subtitle program is obtained by performing subtitle key synthesis and mixing with the NTSC signalized subtitle signal sent from the NTSC converter 25. The presentation unit subtitles for the second and subsequent pages are performed in the same manner as described above. At this time, the processing contents of the video processing and the subtitle synthesizing processing are naturally executed in accordance with the presentation format instruction.

Next, a subtitle program configuration procedure in a subtitle program receiving system to which a second subtitle presentation format having a three-line vertical scroll format is applied will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The following describes mainly the differences from the subtitle program configuration procedure in the subtitle program receiving system to which the subtitle presentation format is applied, as shown in steps S11 to S15 in FIG. A scroll presentation unit subtitle sentence is created, and the presentation unit subtitle sentence is created in step S
5 is that display start, scroll start, scroll end, and display end are performed according to the timing from the timing calculation in 5. The scroll end timing can be fixed or replaced with a scroll speed obtained from the timing calculation in step S5. A well-known method may be applied to the method of vertically scrolling the presentation unit subtitle group selected as the presentation unit by three lines.

Here, the purpose of providing the image time delay processing in the image delay unit 26 will be described. For example, on the premise that two lines of subtitles are presented, the start points of these two lines are transmitted in a state where the timing matches with the video / audio. In the case where the subtitle signal is converted to the three-line subtitle presentation as in the present embodiment according to the above-described first or second subtitle presentation format, the three-line subtitle sentence is received after the second-line subtitle sentence is received. Since a time difference occurs until the caption sentence of the eye is received, the presentation of the three-line caption is awaited at least by the time difference. Therefore, the caption sentences on the first and second lines of the three-line caption are delayed by at least this waiting time with respect to the video and audio. Therefore, the timing difference between the video and audio signals due to the caption processing is eliminated by the video signal delay time processing in the video delay unit 26. The delay time at this time is, for example, about 3 to 5 seconds.

When one-line subtitle presentation or two-line subtitle presentation is selected as the subtitle presentation format, the configuration and processing are performed in three lines regardless of the total replacement format or the vertical / horizontal scroll format. Much easier than in the case.
Since the start timing of the caption sentence to be presented is the same as or earlier than the timing of the video / audio, the delay processing of the video is essentially unnecessary, and in this case, the predetermined timing in the timing calculation in step S5 Since the detection of the pause exceeding the time and the optimization of the division are not required, the configuration can be simplified. However, in the one-line caption presentation, the second-line timing calculation of the received caption text is indispensable.

As described above, according to the closed caption program receiving system of the present invention, the broadcast radio wave including the closed caption sentence text as the basis of the closed caption to be presented is transmitted from the broadcast station along with the video and audio. Assuming that the subtitle sentence text is separated and received from the received broadcast airwaves, and from the subtitle presentation format selected by the viewer, conversion of the subtitle sentence text into presentation units, corresponding timing information detection, and The intended purpose of automatically setting the process of synthesizing with the video and allowing the viewer to view the subtitle program that follows the subtitle presentation format selected by the viewer, thereby meeting the needs of the viewer more and disseminating the subtitle program to the general public. You can expect to achieve it.

It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be embodied in other forms by making appropriate changes within the scope of the claims.

[0072]

As described above in detail, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a broadcast radio wave including a caption sentence text as a base of a caption to be presented is transmitted along with a video / audio. Assuming that the subtitle text extracted separately from the received broadcast airwaves and the subtitle presentation format selected by the viewer, the conversion of the subtitle text to the presentation unit, the corresponding timing information detection, and the video As a result of automatically setting the synthesizing process of subtitles and allowing viewers to view subtitle programs that follow the subtitle presentation format selected by the viewer, the desired goal of satisfying the needs of viewers and disseminating subtitle programs widely to the general public is achieved. You can expect.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, for example,
Even if it is difficult to read or redundant caption text is sent because the number of characters is too large to be presented as it is, it is possible to present a caption sentence that summarizes this appropriately, as a result, a preferable caption text is presented. An environment can be built.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, in converting a subtitle sentence into a presentation unit subtitle sentence according to a subtitle presentation format, by applying delimitable portion information, an optimal presentation format conversion that is easy to read and read is realized. can do.

Further, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain a closed-caption program receiving system capable of realizing a presentation format conversion that is optimized with high precision in accordance with the actual situation.

Further, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the fact that there is a pause exceeding a predetermined time in the audio announcement corresponding to the presentation unit subtitle sentence means that the presentation unit subtitle sentences are separated from each other in time. And may also be configured to include subtitle sentences corresponding to a plurality of different scenes in terms of content, and it may not be preferable to consider these subtitle sentences as one presentation unit subtitle sentence Whereas
As a result of being able to re-verify the validity of the presentation unit caption sentence once confirmed from the viewpoint of the corresponding announcement sound,
A great contribution can be made to the conversion of preferred presentation subtitle sentences.

According to the invention of claim 6, a subtitle program receiving system capable of presenting a desired subtitle program in which the presentation timing of the video corresponding to the presentation unit subtitle sentence and the presentation timing of the presentation unit subtitle sentence are synchronized. Can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block configuration diagram of a subtitle program receiving system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a subtitle program configuration procedure in a subtitle program receiving system to which a first subtitle presentation format is applied;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a subtitle program configuration procedure in a subtitle program receiving system to which a second subtitle presentation format is applied;

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Closed Caption Program Receiving System 13 Receiving Antenna 15 Closed Caption Program Receiving Tuner (Receiving Means) 17 Closed Caption Extraction / Storing / Reading Unit (Caption Extracting / Storing / Reading Means) 19 Summarizing Unit (Summing Means) 21 Presentation Format Instruction Input Unit (Presentation Format) Instruction input means) 23 presentation format conversion unit (presentation format conversion means) 25 NTSC converter 26 video delay unit 27 video processing unit 29 subtitle synthesis processing unit (subtitle synthesis unit)

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (71) Applicant 000004352 Japan Broadcasting Corporation 2-2-1 Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Eiji Sawamura 2-31-19 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo 72) Inventor Takahiro Fukushima 2-31-19 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Communication and Broadcasting Corporation (72) Inventor Terumasa Ehara 2-31-19 Shiba in Minato-ku Tokyo, Japan Communication and Broadcasting Corporation (72) Inventor Shirai Katsuhiko F-term (reference) 2-31-19 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo 5C023 AA04 AA18 AA38 CA05 DA01 5C025 BA25 BA27 BA28 CA10 CA12 DA05

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A broadcast radio wave including video and audio, and a caption sentence text serving as a basis for a caption to be presented, which is transmitted at a predetermined timing together with the video and audio, and from among the received broadcast radio waves, Video, audio, and receiving means for separately extracting caption sentence text, and among various caption presentation formats, a presentation format instruction input means used when selectively instructing and inputting a desired subtitle presentation format, Subtitle sentence text separated and taken out by the receiving means,
A subtitle sentence within a required range is extracted from the subtitle sentence text based on the subtitle presentation format instructed and input by the presentation format instruction input means, and the extracted subtitle sentence is temporarily stored, and stored. In this case, the subtitle extraction / accumulation / reading means for adding the head timing information of each subtitle sentence and reading out the extracted / accumulated subtitle sentence along with the head timing information; Means for converting the subtitle sentence read by the means into at least one or more presentation unit subtitle sentences according to the subtitle presentation format based on the subtitle text and the subtitle presentation format instructed and input by the presentation format instruction input means. Format conversion means, and at least one of the presentation formats converted by the presentation format conversion means.
A subtitle program receiving system, comprising: a subtitle synthesizing unit that synthesizes the above-described presentation unit subtitle sentence and a video separated and extracted by the receiving unit. 2. The subtitle program receiving system according to claim 1, further comprising: a summarizing unit for summarizing the subtitle sentences read by the subtitle extracting / accumulating / reading unit to create a summary sentence. In this case, the summary sentence created by the summarizing means is provided to the presentation format converting means as a caption sentence. 3. The closed-caption program receiving system according to claim 1, wherein the presentation format conversion unit displays the closed-caption text to which delimitable location information has been added. In converting into at least one or more presentation unit subtitle sentences according to the format, a presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan is created by appropriately dividing the subtitle sentences, and the created presentation unit subtitles are referred to by referring to the delimitable portion information. By deciding the presentation unit subtitle arrangement by optimizing the arrangement plan, the subtitle sentence is divided into each presentation unit subtitle sentence at the optimum position,
A subtitle program receiving system, wherein the subtitle program is converted into a presentation unit subtitle sentence according to the subtitle presentation format. 4. The closed caption program receiving system according to claim 3, wherein, in referring to the delimitable location information and optimizing the created presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan, the delimitable location information is , Line feed for the caption sentence
The line feed / page break recommended data includes the line feed / page break data related to the recommended line feed / page break data, and the line feed / page break recommended part defined by the line feed / page break data is first N (N ( (Maximum number of characters in one line of subtitles to be presented) -7 and punctuation marks in the range of N characters, secondly, reading marks in the range of N-4 and N characters from the previous line break / page break point, and thirdly, "." The beginning of a portion where M (K is N or less, N / 4 or more) consecutive Kanji / Kana characters
"-" Position is N or more than N-M from the previous line feed / page break point
In the following cases, after the ".", Fourthly, the beginning of the portion where M kanji / kana characters / Arabic numerals are consecutive (N or less, N / 4 or more) is N- When the number is M or more, any one or a plurality of combinations before the head and fifthly, N-3 characters after the previous line feed / page break point are included, and the relevant line feed / page break data is applied. In this case, the subtitle program receiving system is applied with priority from the head of the description order. 5. The closed-caption program receiving system according to claim 3, wherein, in optimizing the created presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan, the presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan corresponds to the presentation unit subtitle arrangement plan. A subtitle program receiving system characterized by re-converting a presentation unit subtitle array from a subtitle sentence before the pause when a pause exceeding a predetermined time is present during a sound announcement to be made. 6. The closed-caption program receiving system according to claim 1, wherein the closed-caption synthesizing unit is configured to convert at least one of the closed captions after the presentation format conversion by the presentation format conversion unit.
In synthesizing the presentation unit subtitle sentence and the video separated and taken out by the receiving unit while considering the time synchronization between the two, the presentation timing of the video corresponding to the presentation unit subtitle sentence is A subtitle program receiving system, characterized in that the two presentation timings are synchronized by delaying the presentation timing of the presentation unit subtitle sentences with respect to time.